Today's Papers: Democrats: Let's Make a Health Care Deal

The New York Times and Wall Street Journal's world-wide newsbox lead with Democratic leaders in Congress making it clear they're ready to compromise on health care legislation to make sure members of their own party don't bail. It seems likely that, despite White House pressure, bills won't make it through the House and Senate before the August recess. Yesterday, President Obama insisted he's not giving up on the timetable, but suggested a little flexibility by emphasizing the need to "pass reform by the end of this year." The Washington Post also leads with health care but focuses on looking at how Republicans are making a concerted effort to link health-care legislation with the economic stimulus bill, which they have described as a failure. USA Today leads with a poll that shows Obama's approval ratings on specific domestic issues are on the decline. The president has a 55 percent approval rating, which "puts him 10th among the 12 post-World War II presidents at this point in their tenures." Things look far worse for the president on specific issues. Disapproval of how he is handling the economy now stands at 49 percent, and 50 percent disapprove of his approach to health care policy. Almost 60 percent of Americans say Obama is pushing for too much government spending. The Los Angeles Times banners news that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and top California lawmakers have reached a deal to close the state's $26.3 billion deficit. Rather than broadly increase taxes, the agreement calls for deep cuts in government services, and also a variety of accounting tricks to balance the state's budget. California's elderly and poor will be the most affected if the plan that would cut billions in social services is approved by lawmakers.

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